


Reason Enough to Try

by flightofthedragons



Series: The Khaos AU [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Aromantic, Demisexuality, Established Relationship, F/F, M/M, Trans Male Character, Trans Nico, aromantic reyna, demi nico, spoiler thalia and reyna are poly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-07-22 22:02:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7455520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightofthedragons/pseuds/flightofthedragons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thalia shrugged. "So don't have sex. Or maybe you're just not prepared for how awkward your first time's going to be. Either way, this isn't all on you, Jason. If Nico makes a decision, even if you think it's the wrong one, sometimes it's best to just go with it."</p><p>"Thalia, if Jason thinks Nico's that uncomfortable, you can't seriously believe Jason's going to get off on that experience." Reyna snorted. "How about this: If it's not intruding, I'd like to talk to him."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reason Enough to Try

Jason leaned in, placing his hand on Nico's leg as he kissed him. With no resistance from the other boy, he grinned. His hand crept higher as his lips moved downward, feeling Nico lean into his touch.

His hand reached the top of Nico's pants, and the younger boy tensed.

"We don't have to," Jason promised, removing his hand. Nico grabbed it before it could get too far.

"No, it's okay," he said. "I- I think I want to try."  
\- - -

"Hey, Thalia, you in here?" Jason called, moving toward his sister's room. He ignored the 'keep out' sign containing a very stylized skeleton- if Thalia was doing anything he didn't want to see, she'd be playing her music loud enough to wake the dead. Upon opening the door, Jason came face to face with a girl who was decidedly not his sister.

"Oh, hey Reyna," Jason greeted Thalia's girlfriend awkwardly, "I didn't realize you were over."

Reyna grinned slyly. "Disappointed to see me, little Grace?"

Jason grinned. "Of course not. I just needed to talk to Thalia about something."

"What about, little bro?" Jason jumped as Thalia entered behind him.

"Would you two stop calling me 'little'? I'm taller than both of you." Jason grumbled. "Anyway, it's not important, I'll just come back when Reyna's not here."

"What, embarrassed to talk about your pretty boyfriend in front of Reyna?" Thalia taunted, moving past him. She stood behind Reyna and began rubbing her shoulders. "Reyna's a big girl, she can take it."

"I don't- I wasn't- um..." Jason blushed.

"So this _is_ about Nico!" Thalia laughed excitedly. "What's up?"

"Well, it's kind of, um-"

"Did you have sex with him?" She asked suddenly.

"No!" Jason't face bloomed bright red as both Thalia and Reyna burst into laughter. "I mean, we sort of started to, but I could tell he just wasn't comfortable, and anyway we wouldn't have _done_ anything, so- so just-"

Jason's stammering was met with more peals of laughter until he sighed. "I think he doesn't want to sleep with me," he said seriously. Thalia's laughing died off, and Jason took a deep breath before continuing. "I don't want to push him, but he won't _say anything_ , he just keeps going along with me, and I don't know what to do."

Thalia shrugged. "So don't have sex. Or maybe you're just not prepared for how awkward your first time's going to be. Either way, this isn't all on you, Jason. If Nico makes a decision, even if you think it's the wrong one, sometimes it's best to just go with it."

"Thalia, if Jason thinks Nico's that uncomfortable, you can't seriously believe Jason's going to get off on that experience." Reyna snorted. "How about this: If it's not intruding, I'd like to talk to him."  
\- - -

"Nico, right? Nico Di Angelo?" The girl calling his name had thick black hair and dark bronze skin. She looked about Thalia's age, maybe a little older. At Nico's look of confusion, she smiled. "I'm Thalia's girlfriend, Reyna. Jason's told me about you. I wanted to meet you; I hope that's okay?"

The question in her voice let Nico relax just a fraction. "I guess so," he shrugged. "D'you want to grab some McDonald's? I'm starving."

"Sure. I could go for a burger right now."

The two walked side by side in silence for a few minutes. Powdery snow fell in Nico's hair and he resisted the urge to brush it off, instead bundling further into his coat. He glanced nervously at Reyna.

"So, what have Jason and Thalia told you about me?" Nico asked when he could no longer take the silence.

Reyna smiled. "Many things which I have no right knowing, several of which Thalia probably shouldn't know either. I don't think that's any of my business, though."

Nico went cold. "Did he really... tell you and Thalia that? But he promised not to!" Panic overtook the boy's voice. "I don't want people seeing me any differently."

"Whoa, Nico, relax. I don't know what exactly you're referring to, but Jason probably wouldn't betray your trust like that. I meant about. Um. Your sex life."

Nico's face heated up rapidly and he stopped feeling the snow. He began walking more quickly, temporarily leaving Reyna behind. She adjusted quickly, though, catching up with Nico as the two of them neared the restaurant.

"Jason and I haven't even _had_ sex," he said flippantly, "and if he's complaining about that, then may I point out that I was not the one who stopped him."

"That's not-" Reyna stopped herself. "That is really none of my business. I just wanted to get to know you from this end."

"Oh. So what do you want to know?" Nico asked cautiously.

"How did you meet Jason?" Reyna asked.

"School," he replied curtly before ordering food for himself.

"I'd like a number 3, please," Reyna told the cashier, handing him her debit card before Nico could move.

Nico stared at her. "You didn't have to do that."

Reyna shrugged. "I've got a job. I can afford McDonald's for two people. So: school?"

"Annabeth Chase," he shrugged while Reyna took their food from the employee. "I started school late so she got stuck with showing me around."

"Why did you start late?" Reyna sat down at one of the window tables.

"Had to move. Old school drama. Don't particularly feel like talking about it."

"Is that what you're afraid others will see you differently for?" Reyna prodded. Nico glared at her. She stared mildly back.

"Not. Talking. About it." Nico said firmly. After a moment, he bit into a chicken nugget. "How'd you meet Thalia?"

"School," Reyna answered readily. She took another bite of her burger just to watch annoyance cross Nico's face. "I walked in on her fucking my roommate, she recognized me from LGBT club. I just about slapped her when she asked if I wanted to join them, make it a threesome."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Real romantic," he said drily.

Reyna smirked. "Anyone looking for _romantic_ from me's gonna be awfully disappointed."

"Even Thalia?"

"Thalia knows better." Reyna moved her hand as though physically dismissing the notion. "I made that more than clear when we started dating. She can fuck whoever she wants and she can love whoever she wants, cause I'm not always gonna be able to do either of those."

Nico stared at her. "I'm missing something."

Reyna stared back. "I'm aromantic."

"But you're Thalia's girlfriend!" he cried. A rush of self-consciousness hit him as he realized that they were in a public space.

"You can be in a romantic relationship without feeling romantic attraction," Reyna said carefully, "just as you can be in a sexual relationship without feeling sexually attracted to your partner."

Nico froze.

"How did you-"

"Experience," Reyna answered before Nico finished the question. "And the experiences of a lot of asexual friends. You don't have to label yourself, but you should at least keep that in mind."

Nico was silent for a moment. "It's... not just that," he finally admitted, "but that does... have some relevance. I don't want Jason to hate me."

Reyna raised her eyebrows. "Are we talking about the same Jason here? I'm fairly certain he could never hate you, Nico. Just talk to him."

Nico nodded. "Yeah, I know. Um..." he broke off, looking around the restaurant. "D'you maybe want to hang out and play PS3 games for a while?"  
\- - - 

Nico walked into Jason's room and locked the door behind him. "We need to talk about this," he announced.

"Okay, sure," Jason agreed. He kept his eyes on his boyfriend as Nico sat across from him on the bed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed-"

Nico held up a hand to stop him. "Jason. Stop. Please. You did not 'push.' You initiated, and I let you. You gave me an opportunity to stop, and I said not to. _You pulled away_ , and yet you're acting like it's my fault we-"

"You didn't exactly seem like you were having the time of your life!" Jason protested. "I wasn't going to keep going if you-"

"You _told Thalia and Reyna_ ," Nico interrupted loudly. Jason went silent, looking abashed, while Nico glared at him.

"I'm sorry," Jason said again. Nico sighed.

"And what are you sorry for?" he asked tiredly.

"I..." Jason swallowed. "I shouldn't have said anything to them. I'm sorry I did. And I never meant to make it sound like I blamed you, I don't! I just... thought I could use some advice, so I went to my sister."

Nico sighed again. "You do realize that at that point in time I hadn't actually _met_ Reyna? _She_ at least had the decency to realize that our sex life was none of her business, but when she said she knew more than she should I- I thought she meant the other stuff."

Jason looked horrified. "I wouldn't tell her that! I swear, Nico, I'm not going to tell anyone! I... I promise."

Nico smiled softly. "I know," he murmured, "I just worry, even when I shouldn't. Really though," he held the blond boy's gaze, "do not do that again. Not without warning me." Jason nodded. "And now we're gonna have this conversation," Nico continued, "before you send another college girl to talk to me instead."

"What _did_ Reyna say to you?"

"She thinks I'm asexual."

"Oh. Are you?" The thought hadn't even occurred to Jason, but it certainly made sense. "If you are that's okay, we don't have to-"

" _Jason._ " Nico groaned. "Please, stop. I get it, you are excellent with boundaries. Believe it or not, _I am not going to break_. If you do something I'm not okay with, I'll tell you."

Jason hesitated, unconvinced. "Are you sure? You didn't when we were-"

"No, I didn't, yet you for some reason decided that you needed to stop touching me or I would shatter." Nico glared at the older boy.

Jason nodded. "Sorry. I just don't want to hurt you."

"I know. I appreciate it." Hesitating only a moment, Nico repositioned himself so that he was lying against Jason. "I don't know if I'm asexual. It... it's definitely possible. But it's- it's also more complicated than that."

"Because of the trans stuff?" Jason guessed.

"Mmh. partly." Nico sighed. "How much of the campout do you remember?"

"Um," Jason wracked his memory, "All of it? But not... not well?"

Nico snorted. "Glad to hear you didn't black out," he said derisively. "You asked me if I had ever had sex with a guy. And I said yeah. Once." Jason did actually remember that, or at least remembered being worried because of it. "What I _didn't_ tell you was that it was before. Before I came out."

Jason was confused. "You’re still not really out except to me and Hazel," he said, "and surely he must have known if you-"

Nico shook his head. "Not- hah. Not like that. This was um. Before."

Jason blinked. "Wha- Neeks, how young _were_ you?"

"Let's not talk about that," Nico said tersely. "Point is, I'm not really a virgin. And there's more than one reason I don't like sex."

Jason froze. "Oh no," he muttered. "Nico, I'm so sorry."

Nico shrugged. "It wasn't that bad. The sex itself, I mean. It was consensual, and it's not like he- uh. Went that far." He blushed red. "But that was before I- yeah. So I didn't know- And after, um. It was just kind of awkward? I was miserable, actually, but. But it was no one's _fault_ -"

"It's okay, Nico," Jason stopped him talking, for which they both were grateful. Slowly, Jason’s arms wrapped themselves around Nico's torso. The two of them stayed like that for a few moments until Nico turned to kiss his boyfriend.

"So," Jason said lightly, trying to find words to say. "Kind of getting mixed signals here? You have your reasons for not wanting to do stuff, but you also don't seem to like when I suggest we just... don't do anything sexual?"

Nico sighed. "I want to try? Sometimes," he said softly. "Sometimes I want to try, and sometimes the idea is- appalling. But I- with this body- I can't really promise you anything," he said honestly.

"Okay," Jason agreed. Nico studied his face.

"Really? Okay?" He asked earnestly.

"From now on, I'll just follow your lead," Jason promised. "Just. Promise to tell me what you're thinking?"

Nico smiled. "Yeah, okay." He kissed Jason again, this time for several long seconds. Jason eagerly reciprocated, their lips moving against each other enthusiastically. It was Nico who pulled away, breathing shallowly onto Jason's face. "What if… what if I said I didn't want you to touch me, but that's no reason for me not to touch you?"

Jason made an embarrassing noise. "Are you serious?"

"Very."

Jason nodded, swallowing thickly. "Okay."  
\- - -

**Author's Note:**

> lmao this is so old and was going to be an attachment to a bigger work but i never finished that so you know what here have a teeny corner of a world i spent a lot of time on


End file.
